


'There were stars, they burned my eyes.'

by sighingfawn



Series: “There is, in the end, the letting go.” [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Overused Halo reference, coffee shop!AU, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:05:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2548529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sighingfawn/pseuds/sighingfawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'“You need to leave.” The guy has his hand wrapped on Ray’s bruises by the time Joel storms over to them.<br/>“It’s none of your business.” The guy smiles like he can win Joel over, like Joel is going to sit back down.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	'There were stars, they burned my eyes.'

**Author's Note:**

> The idea got stuck in my head and I'm sorry about the ending. Can be read as a prequel/how they met to the stories i wrote called 'ghost with a beating heart' and its sequel, 'within it, you must always stay'. Sorry about the title.

       Rain tumbles from the sky when Joel meets Ray in a small coffee shop near the new RoosterTeeth building. It’s almost empty with only the barista and four other customers, including Joel, who was reading the newspaper when the young looking barista brought his coffee over. Joel looks up from his newspaper as the kid places the mug down on the table with shaking hands.  
“Are you okay?”  
The kid looks scared and Joel half smiles in an attempt to reassure him.   
“Your hands are shaking.”   
“Too much coffee.” The kid’s voice is small and Joel knows he’s lying.   
“Drink some water, it helps me when I’m having an anxiety or panic attack.”   
The kid stares at Joel for a little too long with big unreadable brown eyes. “Thanks. I’ll go do that.”   
Joel smiles again and the kid turns away before looking back briefly, eyes trained on the floor. “Really, thanks.”   
He watches as the barista walks back to the counter, picking up a bottle of water from the large fridge on his way and thats when Joel notices the bruises on his arm.  
Like finger marks.  
       Joel tries to read his newspaper but his mind keeps drifting back to the kid. He glances over and see’s him chugging the bottle of water before picking up a book that was on the stool behind the counter. He leans on his elbows against the wooden counter as he starts reading and the bruises are definitely fingerprints.  
Joel’s phone rings loudly in the small shop.  
“What Burnie? No. I don’t know where it is. Yeah I probably did have it last but right fucking now I don’t know! No. Wait until I get back! Don’t go in my office you fuck! Burnie. Burnie! Just don’t touch anything! Oh god what did you drop?” Joel rests his head on his hand as he listens to Burnie wander about his office trying to find a document that he swore Joel had last. “If it’s in my office it’ll be on my desk! Like right on my desk! Why are you opening drawers? Goddamnit Burnie! ” Joel grits out his words and looks up to see the barista looking over at him, his hand is over his mouth but his eyes are crinkled around the corners like he’s smiling.   
Joel blushes hard. “Burns, just wait until I get back. I’m on my lunch…. I didn’t hide it! How did I know you were going to need it right this goddamn second?”   
The door to the cafe swings open loudly at the same time Burnie proclaims he’s found the document and hey, Joel was right! It was on his desk.   
“You haven’t been answering my calls, Ray.” The guy kicks the door shut and the kid drops his book on the counter.   
“I told you to leave me alone.”  
In Joel’s ear Burnie is asking if he sent that email.  
“Did she tell you to say that? You know how much it upsets me when you speak to her.”  
Ray’s head drops and he wraps his arms around his waist. “I’m asking you to leave me alone.”  
The guy walks up to the counter and in Joel’s ear Burnie asks if he can hear him okay.   
“You’re nothing without me.” The guy is leaning over the counter whispering but his voice carries and Joel tenses. “I’ll always find you.”  
The guy walks behind the counter and Joel doesn’t hear Burnie ask what’s going on, is he okay?  
“You need to leave.” The guy has his hand wrapped on Ray’s bruises by the time Joel storms over to them.   
“It’s none of your business.” The guy smiles like he can win Joel over, like Joel is going to sit back down.  
“It is. You’re hurting him.”  
The guy smiles like he thinks he is going to walk out of here without a black eye. “He’s my boyfriend.”   
“No I’m not.” The kid mumbles and the guy squeezes tighter. “Stop it!” The kid pulls his arm free and clutches it against his chest. “You need to leave.”   
“Not without you.”   
“I told you, you need to leave me alone.” Ray tries to take a step back and the guy reaches for his shirt like he thinks Joel won’t grab his raised fist and slam it onto the wooden counter.   
“You touch him and I’ll break your wrist.” Joel presses down on the guy’s arm and he chokes with pain. “You come back here and I’ll break your face.”   
“Okay, okay!” The guy struggles but Joel keeps his weight firmly on the guy’s wrist.  
“Would you like to say anything to him?” Joel looks at Ray and for a second wonders if he has gone too far.   
“I hate you.” His voice is small again. “I hate you for everything. You could have killed me.”  
“I love you!”   
“Don’t lie to me any more. I hate you. Don’t speak to me again. Don’t come near me or my friends or here, or he’ll kill you.” Ray stares at the ground for a second before looking at the guy dead in the eyes. “I mean it.”   
Joel lets go of his arm and the guy scurries out the shop without looking back.   
Ray will tell Joel months later that some part of him wanted Nathan to try and win him back, the sad part that still keeps Ray from leaving the house or going into the kitchen from time to time.   
“Thank you.” Ray covers his face with his hand and breathes in, shaky and slow. “Nobody has ever stood up for me before.”  
Joel can’t find the words.   
He’ll tell Ray months later that he wanted to say that he was sorry that nobody had ever defended him before and that broke his heart more than Joel thought was possible.   
Ray looks around the shop and see’s that the other customers are pretending nothing happened and he silently thanks them.   
Over on Joel’s table his phone rings again. “Are you going to be okay?”  
“I don’t think he’ll come back. And my shift ends in half an hour.”   
“Are you going to be okay?” Joel repeats as he walks over to his phone.   
“Maybe.” Ray looks over at him and smiles. “Are you a fan of halo?”  
Joel laughs loud and Ray drinks it in like sunshine. “Yeah. My ringtone?”  
Ray nods and tries to straighten up to meet Joel’s confident posture.   
“Do you like video games?”  
Days later, Ray will tell Joel that he wanted to tell him about his gamerscore, how fast he completed Left For Dead and how he loves everything about them.   
Instead he says, “Yeah. They’re pretty cool.”  
       Joel’s phone starts ringing again and he runs his hand through his hair frustratedly.   
“What Burnie? No I didn’t hang up before. No. No I didn’t! There was something going on. I’m not telling you right now. Because. Because I’m goddamn not Burns! I’ll tell you when I get back. Yes I’m leaving now. Are you still in my office? Okay. Okay. Burnie, I am walking out the door right now. Right now!” Joel hangs up the phone and grabs his bag. “I have to get back.”   
“Yeah of course. I’m sorry for getting you involved in this.” Ray looks down at the floor again.“Don’t. It’s okay.” Joel catches the kid’s eye and they exchange smiles. “If it’s okay I’ll check in tomorrow. If you’re working.”  
Ray nods and Joel’s phone starts ringing in his bag again. “You should go.”  
“Yeah. Take care of yourself Ray.”  
“You too.” He waits.  
Days later, Ray will tell Joel that he was certain he wasn’t going to tell him his name, that Ray would never see him again.   
He watches as Joel walks out the shop and then sits on the stool behind the counter, his heart racing as he checks the time and see’s that there’s still twenty minutes until Barbara comes in and takes over.     
The door swings open and Ray stumbles from the stool, prepared to scream or swing fists or run.  
“I forgot to say, my name’s Joel.” He’s gone before he see’s Ray smile.

 

 

 


End file.
